[Anchor]

An accident occurred today (the 2nd) in which a tugboat capsized and sank off the waters near Oryukdo Island in Busan. Out of the 8 crew members on board, 2 have been rescued so far, but 1 has died. The government is making all-out efforts to search for the 6 missing people.

This report is by Choi Han-sol from KNN.

[Reporter]

Only the bow of a vessel remains visible as it lies completely overturned next to a large container ship.

A crew member is precariously standing on top of the hull, waiting for rescue.

[Korea Coast Guard Rescue Worker: What we can see right now is one person, one person. The person is standing on top of the vessel's bottom.]

Around 1:30 PM today, a 286-ton tugboat capsized in the waters 9 km east of Oryukdo Island, Busan.

Two hours after the accident occurred, it sank to a depth of 87 meters.

The vessel met with the accident while heading to tow a Liberian-flagged container ship that was at the accident site after departing from Busan Port.

There were 8 people on board, including 6 South Korean crew members and 2 of Indonesian nationality.

While 2 crew members have been rescued so far, an Indonesian crew member was rescued safely, but a South Korean crew member in his 40s, surnamed A, ultimately passed away.

[Rescued Crew Member (Indonesian): I was in charge of cooking, so while I was cooking (when the boat capsized), I quickly escaped.]

While the Coast Guard is mobilizing all available resources, including 13 rescue vessels and a special rescue team, to conduct rescue operations, they are reportedly facing difficulties due to high waves in the waters near Oryukdo Island.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Navy have also mobilized available assets to handle the accident.

[Ahn Chul-ho / Head of Guard and Rescue Division, Busan Coast Guard: Although underwater search and conditions are difficult, we will actively conduct searches by cooperating with relevant agencies and mobilizing all available assets even during the night.]

The Coast Guard and other authorities plan to continue search operations through the night while investigating the exact cause of the accident.

(Video by: Oh Won-seok, Jeon Jae-hyun / KNN, Footage provided by: Busan Coast Guard)

Choi Han-sol, KNN